Elon Musk has revealed SpaceX’s plans to fly two space tourists to the moon and back by next year

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the tourist mission would last around a week, circling the moon and heading out deeper into space before journeying back to Earth.

SpaceX said the two private citizens have “already paid a significant deposit to do a moon mission” in its Dragon spacecraft.

Musk’s firm said in a statement: “Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration.

Musk’s firm revealed initial training for the week-long space mission will begin this year after health and fitness tests

Space X’s rocket technology has come under scrutiny after it was reported that its rockets would be fuelled with its astronauts still inside – something of a no-no among space boffs.

Speaking following the disaster, Thomas Stafford, a former NASA astronaut and retired Air Force general, condemned the fuelling methods reportedly being used to shave time and money off Space launches.

The announcement comes just two months after SpaceX slammed the brakes on its plans for a manned mission after Dragon capsule, pictured, burst into fireball

He said: “Everybody there, and particularly the people who had experience over the years, said nobody is ever near the pad when they fuel a booster.”

SpaceX had planned to launch its first Dragon capsule with a human crew on board this year, in collaboration with NASA.

It said it needed more time for “assessment and implementations” regarding its “designs, systems and processes” following the explosion last year.

Earlier this month, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre in what was its first space shuttle launch for five and a half years.

Why has it taken us so long to head back to the moon?

Humans haven’t set foot on the moon since December 11, 1972, when Apollo 17 touched down. This was also the last time we left low Earth orbit. The main reason for this is funding, as heading to the moon is very expensive.

NASA is funded by the United States Congress, which means they would need to offer up a compelling case as to why a moon mission should receive funding.

The Apollo program successfully landed humans on the moon six times between 1963 and 1972, with Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 achieving the feat. These missions returned a wealth of scientific data and thousands of kilograms of lunar samples for analysis. Even Apollo 13, which did not land on the moon due to a malfunction, managed to return photographs.

The program was cancelled as NASA simply did not have the time or funds to fit in more moon landings after 1972, former NASA engineer John Schuessler confirmed in 2011.

Scientists, engineers and astronauts are currently working full tilt on the next stage of space exploration, with Elon Musk’s firm SpaceX the first privately-funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.

The company made history again in 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station for the first time.

SpaceX was founded in 2002 to revolutionise space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

In the near future, SpaceX will carry crew as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program with its Dragon capsule. It is also in the process of developing the Falcon Heavy, which is tipped to be the world’s most powerful rocket.

The rocket quickly disappeared into a low cloud deck after a successful take off.

The Falcon 9 rocket was launched with 5,500 pounds of supplies, experiments and other miscellaneous cargo on board, with the International Space Station as its final destination.

The Dragon cargo capsule reached the station successfully, where a robotic arm grabbed and loaded it to one of the docking ports.

The mission was SpaceX’s 10th resupply to the International Space Station.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368.